I can stop anytime I want to...

OK, so I may have become slightly addicted to these beaded bracelets...

Just a bit. I mean, so I've got 7 completed, and four more waiting (the beads are strung, waiting to be knit up). So what if I've scoured my house for every last bead, separated out the ones that are too big, and worked out new colour combinations. And its not like I search out bead sections in stores. (Walmart has a surprisingly good selection and price point. Michael's, too).

(see that copper one at the top right? I'm in love... And the stone one in the middle? *swoon* (I'm making two more of these - you can see them already strung...)

I can stop anytime I want to. I just don't want to right now. Pass the beads...

Also,

anyone reading this in the Aurora area - is your power on? Ours went off around 6:45am and hadn't come back as of 7:30am when I left. I'm just wondering about my fridge etc.

up close with the rainbow wrister

Sorry for the severe lack of posts last week - software training sucked the life force out of me. The first day was a mind-numbing overview of the rudimentary basics of Excel. I'm an Analyst - I live and breathe Excel. I quietly asked if I could be excused from this part and come back when it got interesting. Request denied. Thankfully, I had stopped at Tim Hortons for an XL - it got me through... The next three days (yes it was FOUR days), were as useless. But whatever. I smiled, took notes, made comments and played nice.

But I have been knitting! I wanted to show a little more detail on the frilly rainbow hued wristers I am working on. I know my niece would love them as is - a simple tube with a thumb hole and picot edging. (I had her a hat out of this yarn last year - these are made of the leftovers, so she'll have a set).
I wanted more. I've become bead addicted, and seem to be looking for ways to add them to my knitting projects. Since I knit a lot of things for males, I take every female opportunity to add the beads. Since these wristers took so little time and yarn, I felt they needed a little sumthin' sumthin'. Aha! a lone ball of blue Ovation - 75% kid mohair, 25% silk. And the blues matched. I picked up some stitches around the wrist line, knit a couple of rows of beads,
then knit up until it was just to the top of my thumb, increasing a bit for a streamlined cone shape. (I wanted it to cover the thumb while being worn - Canadian winters and exposed thumbs - not a good match). At the top, I did some major increasing, then cast off with beads on every stitch - it gives some nice weight to the top of the frill, and makes the ruffled edge swing quite nicely.

I actually kept notes on this, so I should be able to re-create it for the second one. (one of the downfalls of designing on the fly when you need a second piece). I may write up the pattern as well if there is interest.

Ignore the ladder - I haven't blocked these yet, and this ladder always disappears with blocking. These make me ridiculously happy, and they are not even colours I would wear. I know my niece will love them.

Potter stuff...

I'm
a Gryffindor!

Woo Hoo! I'm such a Harry Potter geek... Yes, I've read the latest book - I'm 7 for 7. I may see the movie, or may wait for the DVD - they're such great cottage-watching movies.

D'oh!

I'm not really a Simpson's fan. I've watched it on and off, but was never rabid. However, if I was ever guest on the show, at least I know what I would look like...

Except my hair won't be this nice - the only other option that came close was the hair of one of Marge's sisters, and well, I took poetic license.

Go here for your own.

I am knitting - I'm just forgetting to take pictures - Life has been a little hectic this week! I will also have some exciting knitting news to share soon, just working out details!

holiday knitting

Okay, my training was put back a day. This after I sat in there, and when they all started talking about the software, I said that I had no idea what they were talking about. When asked why I hadn't done the required reading, I asked when the reading was provided. "last week" was the answer. I sat quietly until someone realized that I hadn't seen it, and since I was to be the primary user of this new software, maybe they should give me a chance to read up on it. Training delayed until tomorrow...
Of course, since I uploaded these pic last night at home, now I can sneak a quick post in. I will expand upon my vacation a little more in coming days, as I probably won't have much more to talk about...

I knit a lot last week. A lot. I still didn't really dent everything I had brought, but I made some good progress.

I finished the two pairs of socks that I had started. Two more gifts for Christmas!

I started a new scarf with my favourite scarf yarn - Noro Silk garden. I have two scarves in this already - the Harlot scarf, and an Argosy scarf. I may give the Argosy to a SIL that has been coveting it, and keep this Montego Bay one for me. I. love. it. Here it is with under one ball done - there has been another ball's worth or length added since. I will probably use up 2.5 balls, and use the rest for fringe. Did I mention that I love it? I really do.
You've seen parts of this before. I knit very simple fingerless mitts - simply a tube on dpn's, then back and forth for a while to create the thumb hole, then back to rounds. A simple picot bind off. But, since these are for my niece, and she's 13, so she loves the over-the top stuff, I've added a frill of Ovation (kid mohair/silk blend), with a wealth of beads - two roads of crystal beads at the cast on, then a ruffly bind off with a bead on every stitch. I will go into more detail of this project, because I'm thinking of writing up the pattern.
A cotton chenille flower washcloth. I started this a while ago, having one petal done, and the needles and pattern sitting in a bag. I dragged it out, and within a couple of hours, had it done. It's an Interweave Knits pattern (can't remember which issue right now - let me know if you want details...). Surprisingly, the cotton chenille was not a bear to work with - no worming, no straining. And the resultant fabric is quite nice. Wrapped up with a special soap, this could be a really nice gift.
I started a new sock - Socks that Rock, Harlotty colourway (Hi, Stephanie!) Again, more headway has been made on this - about another three inches. I have also decided that it may not be a sock. It fits my hand rather well, and may turn into a mitten. The colourway is really pretty, and would match my green jacket very nicely. Plus, I am planning on getting a new brown coat this year, so mittens it may be. I'm making the pattern up as I go - I've never made a top down mitten. I'm thinking of creating the thumb hole with waste yarn, and knitting the thumb up from there.
Another lace scarf - 50% merino, 50% tussah silk fingering weight, bought from Grand River Yarns, crocus colourway. Pattern included - it's by Sue McFadyen, and very pretty. If it's this nice unblocked, you can imagine how nice it is blocked.
Four more beaded bracelets. Seriously quick knits. The multi-coloured ones are from the kits I bought, the red is one I did using beads that I had. It's more of a pavé look, and really quite pretty.
My favourite knitting time - sitting on the dock at sunset, watching my boys fish. It doesn't get much better than this...
More details about some of these projects to come.

I'm here, Nancy...

I'm back - and I have to immediately go into three days of training at work. DO not check e-mail, do not pass go, do not do anything...
Did lots of knitting - will post soon.
Being dragged awayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy..........

gone fishin...

Yup - in the immortal words of Dennis Miller, I am outta here! (Just for a week, I haven't quit. Yet.) Going to the cottage for a week of fun, sun and my boys. I can't wait, We are in severe need of this week.

I've packed way more knitting that can possibly be done by one person in the time span, but that's what I do. Come on, admit it - you do it too, dontcha? I know you do...

Son is hot to trot to learn how to water-ski - I was 8 when I first got on skis, so he thinks that's what he will do. I can't wait to see it.

Hubby is planning on reading a few good books, and spending much needed family time. He's also talking about rebuilding the back deck steps. He always needs a project. Remember last year? Cleaning out the storage room? Or as we now call it - the "Harvest Gold Toaster Burial Grounds"? Really. There were 4 harvest gold toasters in there. And about 10 glass coffee carafes. (From every coffee maker that has ever been there. The coffee maker died, we kept the carafe).

Wanna see a quick knit before I go?
Seriously quick - one evening to string the beads, one evening to knit it. I'm in love. I've just added all my beads and tiny needles to my "take to the cottage" stuff.

Off to my staff meeting - I can't wait...
ETA - total gloss over - it seems everything is just peachy keen around here! (yeah, right...)

Double Yum...

I received my package from EarthFaire.com yesterday:

and, up close:

Four knitted beaded bracelet kits. Double Yum indeed! Each kit comes with the metallic thread, the beads (assorted), and clasp. It's seriously easy. You thread the beads on, knit in garter stitch, adding the beads in. I'm addicted to bead knitting, and I think this may be a very cool Christmas gift this year. There may have been some late night bead stringing last night. And perhaps, even some knitting of beads. Just maybe.

This is how I keep myself occupied during Son's soccer games:


It's easier to gauge progress on the striped socks - I get about 5 stripes done during a 1 hour game. Sometimes less, depending on how exciting the game is, or how much socializing with the other parents goes on... I keep both of them with me, because when I get close to a heel, I switch to the other one. I don't want to be setting a heel (that means counting!) while occupied with something else. I'm all about the mindless stockinette during soccer games...

The other parents are used to me by now - most of the women are keeping track of the different projects I bring - they must think I'm the most boring knitter in the world, since all I ever bring is mindless stockinette. Then again, I'm probably the only knitter they have ever seen in the wild, so they may think I'm a genius because of what I can do with sticks and string... Either way, no one has said anything derogatory, which is refreshing when you think back to some of the stories I've had from swimming lessons and basketball. (Ah, the life of a suburban mom...)

ANOTHER person quit yesterday. Just up and left after a behind closed doors conversation. She had been here longer than me, and always seemed so laid back. Definitely the last person I would have pegged for this. Problem is, she knew a lot. And no one else really knows how she did what she did. (Sort of like me). Bigger problem - what she did and what I do are kinda similar. Similar enough that I'm worried they may try to laterally move some of her stuff to me. I. don't. want. it. And I will make that very clear. I already took on another job when the purchaser left. I didn't get any more money, and I have not commented on that. I'm not taking on ANOTHER person's responsibilities. For any amount of money. There's not enough money to make that worthwhile to me. Hubby and I had a discussion about the situation around here. (He is incredulous that this is going on - he has some HR problems with his staff, and it's nothing compared to this. I'm such a good wife - I tell him my problems, so that his work issues seem petty in comparison!) I'm just trying to lay low, and hope nothing happens before I go away. I don't want to get into discussions "about my future here".

Tomorrow's full staff meeting should be very interesting. We will either all get blasted about company loyalty (has happened before), or grilled about how we feel about things here, or it will totally ignored.

yum...

I love yarn. I tell you this in case you didn't realize that about me. I especially love wool and all other natural fibres. But best of all, is getting free wool! Well, technically, not free, because there is trade yarn on it's way to LuckyCanuck, but still, it feels like free yarn.

This was waiting for me when I got home last night. 12 balls of Australian Merino Lamé. It's a super soft grey merino with a thread of silver running through it. This is beautiful stuff. Lucky and I were discussing it - she had no use for it, and I was smitten by it. Easy decision - she sent it to me where she knew it would (eventually) be made into something useful. (I'm thinking a Leaf Lace Shawl). Lucky - would you believe I sent your stuff yesterday, just hours before getting your note? I know you'll love the Shelridge sock yarn, but really, I have tons of the blue Harris Tweed - I'll save it for you, and send it off! That way, I know it will be used and loved.

Work note. A friend of mine here quit yesterday, and let HR know in no uncertain terms exactly why she is quitting. She does not have another job, but could not handle the issues that were going on around here. Being told (in an open area) that she deserved to be fired over a mistake that was made (which she had discovered and fixed) was her final straw. I highly doubt any changes will be made regarding this, but we do have a full staff meeting on Friday - I wonder if it will be addressed. I'm not holding my breath.

one more week...

before we are on vacation. If I can just get through these next five days... I have enough work to keep me very busy this week, so I am hoping to fly under the radar. The owner here has a habit of trying to get me involved in large projects just before I go away. He does this to a lot of people - we think he wants to see if anyone will cancel their vacation to help out. There is one person who does, and he holds her up as a shining example of the perfect employee. She also had no family, and no life that we can discern.

I am planning on avoiding him this week!

Going to the cottage this past weekend was definitely the right decision. There were frozen strawberry-raspberry-peach margaritas:

Yes, there were as yummy as they look. We do have official margarita glasses, but these Magic Bullet ones work just fine. And they are colour coded.

There was knitting done:

I made a couple of bookmarks, in anticipation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows release this month. One if for me - I am a total Harry Potter geek, and one for my 13 year old nephew. I have bought him every Potter book, and will get him this one as well. He begged for them a couple of years ago for Christmas, and I had to get them for him. As a voracious reader myself, I take any opportunity to encourage this in young people. All of his friends were in the midst of Potter-mania, and he had to be as well. I even made him the Gryffindor scarf. I don't believe he has read more than half of the first book, but whatever. He will still get book seven - probably for Christmas, along with the knitted bookmark.

I used crochet cotton, and a 2mm needle. Each took a couple of hours, and a whole lotta starch! But I am impressed with them.

There was also a great deal of sock knitting, but second socks in progress look a lot like first socks, so no pictures. I hope to have the blue denim and brown striped socks done soon, so I can start on some other sock yarns that are calling me.

This is going to be a busy week, what with getting ready to go away for a week. Clothes are easy - some shorts, some t-shirts, some bathing suits, a pair of sweats and a hoodie, and I'm good. But trying to decide how much knitting, and how many books, that's something else. I've started throwing a basket together with all the projects that I want to finish and those that I want to start. It's way more than I can possibly do in a week, but don't we always do that??

Food is another thing - Hubby and Son and I like to eat well, especially when we have the time to put some nice meals together. I'll put the call into the butcher later this week with what we need form him, and then work out all the menu stuff we will need. One would think that since it is a family cottage, and my in-laws have been there for 2 weeks already, there would be a lot of the basics in place. Wrong. They are not really foodies, and are content with a poached egg on toast for dinner some nights, so I tend to bring EVERYTHING we will need. At least we thought ahead and brought the smoker up this past weekend. (Hubby has a charcoal Weber smoker). It's bulky, and getting it there ahead of time saved us a ton of space (more room for wool!!) in the truck. We're going to smoke some ribs, some brisket and some trout fillets. Mmmm, smoked trout...

I'll try to post somewhat regularly this week, when time allows, but will be completely off line next week. (Sorry Nancy!)

whether or not depends on weather

Hubby and I had been debating going to the cottage this weekend. My BIL and family are not going - they are attending a wedding in town. This means that my son will not have his cousin to play with. My SIL won't be there to provide a buffer between me and my MIL. Hubby is ridiculously busy at work. We are going up next weekend for an entire week. All of these factors meant we were leaning towards staying in town. Hubby could work, Son and I could go to the zoo or maybe a movie, or just hang out.
Then we saw the weather report. Stinking hot all weekend. That decided it. Even though the cottage has no air conditioning, and our house does, I'd still rather be there on stinking hot weekends. The zoo on really hot days is not as much fun. The animals are slugs (can you blame them?) and it's too hot to do much.

So after work, I'm hitting the grocery store and we're heading up. I'll be back Monday with pictures. I plan on knitting small little things that will not heat up my lap. Or maybe I will just read. Or maybe, do nothing. In that case, you'll get pictures of lake, margaritas and beer. I'm sure you understand.

well, crap.

29%

I have the same percentage chance of this as I do of job satisfaction. I wonder if there's a connection here...

I've notice around the blogosphere, that there seems to be a loss of knitting mojo. I went through it too. Before the Canada Day weekend, I would look at my knitting bag - overflowing with projects on the go, and luscious yarns waiting to be knit up. Nothing. I would pick something up, and put it down. I attributed it to the heat we were experiencing at the time. I think, for me, it was more than just the onset of summer. The job satisfaction thing yesterday, while a joke, really does reflect my work situation. My job is sucking too much life from me, and the politics and crap around the office are not worth it, in the grand scheme of things. However, saying that, the lifestyle we have chosen for ourselves dictates that I need to bring in an income for the next little while. Hubby and I have looked at things, and I can take a drop in pay, if all other things line up. (closer to home, less stress, etc. etc.) So, I'm looking. As I said yesterday - I'm not going to jump from the frying pan into the fire - the jump has to be a worthwhile one.

Once we came to this conclusion, my knitting mojo came back. (A long weekend at the cottage really helped as well. Nothing like knitting by the beach to make things all better!)

I hope to leave behind any more conversation about bad work situations - The next time, I hope it is about a change. I'll try to keep to knitting (and some fun stuff) from here on in.

Oh, and I will continue to post pictures of purchases. Sigh. I have to stop reading other blogs. I have no idea how long it takes to get a package from EarthFaire.com I guess I will find out soon. I blame Dr. Stephannie for this latest credit card accident. See why I need to keep working??

(I didn't buy the same kit she did. You'll have to wait to see what I got. I hope it arrives before I leave for holidays...)

no surprise here...

Your Job Satisfaction Level: 29%

Your job is definitely a bummer, and you probably should get a new one. Make sure you know what's getting you down. Is it your co-workers? The work environment? Your boss? Getting a new job is important, but so is not repeating the same mistakes.

Should You Get a New Job?

I'm actually surprised it's as high as 29%... I know what the contributing factors are, and I am also well aware of the difficulties in leaving. First, I'm not going to jump from the frying pan into the fire. When I leave, it will be for a situation that I will be comfortable with. I'm not going to jump just for the sake of jumping, because I do like what I do, and there are a number of people that I work with that are great. Unfortunately, there are also a number of people that make it difficult. Oh well.

And, here's the link to the salad wristies - some people at my Guild meeting last night were interested, so I said I post the link. It really is a great, easy pattern. Just click on the link.

I should qualify something about yesterday's post. I did NOT do all that knitting on the weekend. The green beaded thing and the brown lace was done ahead of time - I just had not posted about the stealth knitting. And I did show you the first salad wristie, and the second one was completed on Friday before we left for the weekend. I did knit two rainbow things, and I did a lot of sock knitting at the cottage, but as I said, I have not yet perfected sleep knitting, so I can't crank out the amount of stuff it looked like...

back to the grind...

Well, we're back. And the family is intact, even though we had some rain on Saturday which basically kept all nine of us in fairly close quarters. That's not always fun or easy. Hubby handles it better than I - he is one of five kids, and is used to a lot of people around in small spaces. I on the other hand have one brother, and always had the option of being by myself if I so wanted.

Regardless - it was great to get away, and I regained my knitting mojo. I had not been feeling the love lately - I think a combination of the onset of warm weather, and a general malaise about life - brought on mostly by a not-so-great work situation. It may or may not improve, and I'm basically in a wait ans see situation. I have been looking around, and had a couple of possibilities, but we'll see...

On to the knitting. Some I can show you, some I will just tease you with.

What I can show:

a completed sock - a wonderful hand dyed denim blue 100% merino yarn. First of a pair for my FIL for Christmas.

Meilenweit self striping - this is about 5 inches further up the leg by now (got a lot done on the drive home last night). This will go in the Christmas box - probably for a good friend of ours.

I finished the second Salad wristie! I love these - so quick, so nice, and from the interest shown by friends at the cottage - could be very popular this year...

Now the stealth stuff. To explain: I'm working on some original designs for a friend. (or for myself, we'll see where it goes). But, until I work out the kinks and write up some patterns, there is only a hint of what could be...

rainbow hand-dyed - that's a picot cast off you sort of see...

brown cotton lace - looks like crap now, but I have high hopes for this...

green wool and mohair/silk with beads - another fave, but it needs serious tweaking...

I'm looking forward to a short week - we have to pack in a lot in 4 days, and hopefully, Hubby packs in enough so that we can go back to the cottage for the weekend. And after next week, we will be there for an entire week - by ourselves! I can't wait...

See you at the Guild meeting tonight!

long weekend!

Yes, as of end-of-day today, we are outta here! This is a much needed 3 day weekend - Hubby has been working very long hours, and has a long summer ahead of him with major projects. I am frazzled. Between the crap that is known as work, and trying to do it all at home, and the best part - my MIL overly concerned about the state of my marriage! Because Hubby is not getting home before 8 or 9 (or later) at night, we haven't seen a lot of each other - a few minutes here and there to get caught up and trade essential info. This is not new to us, and we make it work. It's also reasonably short term, and he more than makes up for it on weekends, especially at the cottage. But MIL thinks that maybe all is not good.We've been having this issue since I put the Christmas lights up by myself (this entails using an extremely high ladder). She thinks I think I don't need Hubby around.
Now, I love this woman with all my heart. She is the total antithesis of all the MIL jokes. She's a loving, caring woman who welcomed me whole-heartedly into her family. (She probably would have preferred us to have more kids, and for me not to work, but these are small things.)
But, her feelings that I am not capable of doing things without Hubby tend to tick me off a touch. I can mow a lawn (and often do). I can do all the things around the house that she assumes are "man things". I mean, in the 15 years we've been married, I can easily count the number of nights that Hubby has arrived home before 7pm, without going too high into the double digits. I knew this would be our life before I agreed to it. What I don't need is someone pitying me because of it.
Hubby's idea of how to really make it interesting? (Remember, this is HIS mother.) Leave some business cards lying around from a divorce attorney. Just to see what she says. (Practical jokes run rampant in his family). I won't let him do it. What is she actually thinks this is a good idea??

A very Happy Canada Day to you! And a Happy Fourth of July to you as well? Not in North America? (One, I'm shocked that you are reading this, so please leave me a comment and tell me how you got here, and second, just enjoy the beginning of July - it's a fine time of year...

thanks for the comments...

A couple of comments yesterday need answers, and I'm never quite sure how to address this. DO I answer back in the comments? That seems a little presumptuous, assuming that you are checking back multiple times in a day. (I like that, it does wonders for my blog stats, but really, I'm not so vain tho think you are checking me more than once.)

Do I email you back? Not always easy or even a possibility - not everyone's email shows up.

DO I pull a Wendy and answer them in the next day's post?

I'm going for option number 3.

Wannietta asked how I thought The Knit Picks circulars compared to the Addi Lace needles. I don't really know, not having tried the Addi Lace. However, as I told her (I did email Wannietta - there were some other things we needed to discuss...), I would highly recommend the KP needles that I have. Please note that they are the 16 inch, 2.25mm needles. The cord, once I took it out of the package, laid nice and flat, no curling. The join was nice ans smooth. But, these are small diameter, short needles. I hope that larger and longer needles are the same, but I can't comment on that. For the ones I have and what I need them for, they are great. Nice, pointy tip, as well.

Carol mentioned some relief options for my allergies. Got 'em and use 'em. Actually, I am an Aerius chick - it's always worked for me before. This year, I'm having more problems. (OK, honest confession - I'm not exactly taking them regularly - I'm very bad at forgetting to take them. What I need to do is toss them in my purse, so I always have them with me, and when I remember them as I'm driving to work, I can pop one. I just have to remember to put them in my purse!) I do use a Nasonex spray at times, but not really my favourite thing. There's enough stuff coming out of my nose, that I don't need to put anything in!

Carol also asked about the delivery time for Knit Picks. If you are of the instant gratification type (like me!) this may not be your favourite option. I placed by order on June 11 - When I checked on June 15 - the order was still pending. (I chalk this up to their sale - I'm sure they were inundated with orders). As of June 16 - it was shown as shipped. They do have a Canadian shipping address in Fort Erie - and it arrived on my doorstep on June 25, so that would be 6 business days (9 including weekends). And this was Canada Post, Expedited Service. So, two weeks, start to finish - really not all that bad. My big issue was the 5 day "pending" issue, I guess.

And...

I missed my first blogiversary! I started this little thing on June 22, 2006. I cannot believe it's been a year. Wow. Thanks for reading.

mmmm, more yarn...

At last! My Knit Picks order arrived on my doorstep! You know what? The deliciousness of the yarn and needles more than made up for the length of time it took to arrive. I am very happy.
Of course, I ordered sock yarn and lace weight - things that are in Such Short Demand, chez Curlerchik. (Did the sarcasm come through, there? I hope so. We are drowning in sock and lace weight yarn around here...)
Knitpicks Shadow in Campfire colourway - 3 skeins, 440 yards each. 100% merino, and destined for a shawl of some sort.
2 skeins of Gossamer - Trail colourway100% merino - 440 yards each. Not sure what to do with this - I'll be perusing my lace books shortly...Dancing sock yarn in Hula and Rumba colourways - cotton, wool, nylon and elastic blend. I'm thinking Mom and MIL socks here...
Memories 100% merino sock yarn - 2 skeins in Redwood Forest, 2 of Hawaii and 2 of S'mores. (I already have 2 of the S'mores. Not sure what I was thinking there...)

And the needles - circs and dpns for sock knitting. I find in the summer, my sock yarn tends to stick to my beloved bamboo needles, and it slows me down. I thought I'd try these - I use 2 circs for my Turkish Toe cast on, and switch to dpns for the sock. (yes, I know how to knit socks on two circs, but I choose not to...)
I cast on a new sock last night - you know, just as a test... Can I say something? These are wonderful. The circs are brilliant, with the best cord and join I've seen. The dpns are heavy, but that doesn't bother me. The yarn slides smoothly along. I will definitely buy these again.

On another, completely non-knitting note - my allergies have kicked my ass this year. I had a sinus infection a couple of weeks ago, and the seasonal allergies have just kept up. I sound like Mae West after a carton of smokes and a bottle of scotch, and I'm not even getting the fun of the smokes and scotch! My eyes water all the time, and you DON'T want me to discuss the output from my nose. Really, you don't.
I'm hoping a long weekend north may help - get me away from the smog and such. To be honest, 3 days at the cottage may not help my allergies, but they will do wonders for me! I can't wait to go! Then, immediately after that, we have our Guild meeting on Tuesday July 3rd. Elizabeth, I hope you are coming - I have a couple of things to show you...

my first tagging...

It's the first time that I've been tagged for a meme. Should I be excited? I sort of feel like Sally Field - you like me!

Knittech tagged me, so here goes...

The rules are to go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday month and day only. Then post 3 events, 2 births and one holiday that occurred on your birthday, then tag 5 friends.

Events:
1869 - In Dumbarton, Scotland, the clipper Cutty Sark is launched - one of the last clippers ever to be built, and the only one still surviving to this day. - and spawned a mighty fine scotch, I might add.

1993 - Rachel Whiteread wins both the £20,000 Turner Prize award for best British modern artist and the £40,000 K Foundation art award for the worst artist of the year. - this kind of irony is heaven to me!

Births:

1859 - Billy The Kid, American outlaw (d. 1881(?)) - cool! I can relate to an outlaw.

1959 - Dominique Dunne, American actress (d. 1982) - I loved the movie Poltergeist, and I really felt badly for her and her family when she was killed the way she was. I'll never understand people that do what that guy did.

Holiday:

St. George's Day in Georgia (the country in Asia, not the State) - holidays are a wee bit lean on my birthday.

Man, there is a lot of bad things that happened on my birthday - lots of wars, unrest, and killings. Please don't take that as an indication of the type of person I am...

as far as tagging... if you read this and want to do - go nuts. If not, that's ok too...

performance anxiety and other random stuff...

Lucky Canuck and I were talking - she belongs to two sock clubs - the Blue Moon Rockin' Sock Club and Pick Up Sticks. I belong to neither - I just live vicariously through her.

We've both hit the "summer meh" of knitting. Nothing is really catching our eyes, nothing seems to get done. (that may change soon - we're both waiting for KnitPicks boxes to arrive. Nothing like new books, yarn and needles to jump start the knitting mojo! - or crochet in Lucky's case - post a pic of the dress, chickie!)

But, back to the sock clubs. Lucky has posted pics of the latest acquisitions. (man, that Seacoast is delicious...) But, as we were discussing, there almost seems to be a performance anxiety to do these projects as soon as they arrive. You joined the club, you have to knit them, right? Of course not. Lucky has changed her whole attitude about these. She is now considering them to be luscious stash enhancements for future projects. She started this with the last STR - when she decided against the enclosed pattern, and is turning the Silkie into stunning gauntlets. A member of my Guild, who also belongs to the Pick Up Sticks Club, is feeling somewhat the same way - she made a comment at the last meeting about the anxiety to finish the socks - however, she really wanted to, because she loved the pattern. That's the right reason for working hard on a project - because you love it.

We also discussed travelling projects - Lucky and I are both lucky enough to have access to lakefront cottages. We discuss which projects are the ones to take - Do you bring just one, and get it done? (Yeah, right - not going to happen.) Do you bring everything, and work a little bit on each? (No feeling of accomplishment.) Some easy, some hard? (Our choice - easy for those times when charts are a pain, or people want to talk to you, and some lace for those quiet times when you can refer to a chart, and it's quiet.) Since I'm a passenger on the 2+ hour drive each way, I take socks or something similar for the car - I can hold up my end of the conversation, and still get stuff done. Same for beach knitting - I still have to keep an eye on the kids, or be able to jump in myself at a moment's notice - socks are great for this. In the evenings, however, a lac project, or something charted is great - it gives me some quiet time when no one will bug me.

Now that I've hijacked almost an entire post on other people's stuff - I do have some of my own knitting going on. I just can't show you. (nice, eh?) Maybe soon. I have to show it someone else first. But I have been knitting. More than I thought I was, because it doesn't feel like I'm getting anything done. But my "finished stuff" bag is growing, so obviously I'm knitting. (Or I've perfected sleep knitting. One can only hope.)

A side note to Steph - I love hearing about the knitters you meet and the places you go. It's not about you - it's about them. And the First Socks? So cool. I wonder if we'll get Joan T. from our Guild (a knitter who refuses to make socks) to convert...

so fast...

...you didn't even see it coming!

How's this for a quick knit? I didn't even have a chance to post that I was starting them, and a day later, I finished one. A day where I worked a full day, grocery shopped, and made dinner for kid and husband. Just a normal day. But man! Are these quick! And, in my opinion, rather pretty. I'm looking forward to the fall, when they will peek out of the sleeves of my jacket, keeping me warm on chilly mornings. Of course, that scenario is completely dependent on me making another one, and we all know how often I make second mitts...

But really, I will make another one - they are so simple, and cute, why wouldn't I?
Then again, I cast on for a different style with different yarn, and different needles already.

It's not like I need them RIGHT NOW, is it?

Specs:
Salad wristies - free pattern found here
(a brilliant, easy pattern - thanks Presents Knits!)
mods - different yarn - I used JJ's - a hand painted worsted from New Zealand, purchased from Tove at Needles and Knits in Aurora - aubergine colourway.
I also cast on 32 stitches instead of 28, because I couldn't find my 5mm dpns, so I used my 4mm. I think they worked better with this yarn, anyway.
I did a 3 stitch picot bind off, rather than a 2 stitch - it was my first time doing a picot cast off, and I wanted it lush and full and ruffly. It is definitely that.